NEAR ASHLAND, Ore. – The Oregon Gulch Fire started as a fast-moving firestorm taking out almost everything in its path. But it didn’t stop one family from arming themselves with heavy equipment to fight the fire from destroying their home.

Frank Cox and his family live on Copco Road near the Green Springs. He’s not a firefighter, but he says he saved his home from a fire storm. Cox said the level one evacuation order was the only notice his family received before flames started racing toward his home.

“We watched 100 foot fire tornadoes across the field as the trees were coming up toward the house,” Cox said.

Frank Cox and his son said they fought the Oregon Gulch fire for more than an hour before it gave way.

“There were a few moments when I really thought that maybe we’d made a bad mistake, my son and I, and that it may be more than we had anticipated. But we never stopped fighting and we knew in pretty short order that we’d made the right decision,” Cox said.

And even with burn marks on his neck, Cox said he would do it again, because his home on Copco Road is still standing.

“We heard from no one and we saw no one for almost 36 hours at which time, you know I know that the fire crews were overwhelmed, still in all we’re a family that lives on this mountain, and they know that, and and I think there needed to be a much much better effort to inform us of what was going on, people could have died here,” said Frank.